Vinexpo hails international visitor growth

Final figures from Vinexpo showed a record 38% of non-French participants, with Chinese visitors proving particularly prominent in keeping with the fair’s global consumption growth predictions.

Total attendance at the five-day biennial fair reached 48,858 visitors from 148 countries, marking a 1.5% increase on 2011, although the number of non-French attendees rose by 3%.

Of these, by far the best-represented country was China, which supplied 3,388 drinks trade representatives, a 13.9% increase on its participation in 2011. Also well-represented was Japan, which sent 17.6% more visitors than two years ago with 427 visitors.

Despite this strong growth in Asian participation, the US had the second largest visitor presence at Vinexpo, with 1,433 representatives. Following close behind was the UK, with 1,418 visitors, Belgium with 1,132 and Germany with 1,073.

Among the countries showing the sharpest increase in visitor numbers were Canada, which saw an 11.9% uplift, and Russia, which sent 9.8% more visitors.

Meanwhile French visitor levels remained stable, representing 62.2% of total attendance.